This invention relates generally to computer-user interfaces for generating medical reports, and more particularly, to a computer-user interface for generating echocardiographic reports.
An echocardiogram is a diagnostic procedure which uses ultrasound to take moving pictures of the heart. The images appear in black and white or color and may be recorded on video tape and paper tape for later analysis and reporting by the physician. From these pictures, it is possible to measure the size of each of the four chambers of the heart, to study the appearance and motion of the heart and to conclude how forcefully the heart muscles contract to move the blood into each chamber of the heart and out to the lungs and the rest of the organs of the body.
Since a large amount of detailed information must be evaluated, many computerized medical report generation systems have been developed. Some of the report generation systems are generic to medical reports; some are specific to echocardiographic reports. All of the report generation systems are based on a traditional computer-user interface design using nested menus and check boxes. In the traditional user interface, the user is presented with a menu from which he selects an item. Once an item is selected, a window "pops up" displaying a limited number of boxes to select. Some windows contain "buttons" to select a secondary window, and so on. To complete an echocardiographic report, the physician must complete each selection, then close the window or go back to the menu and select another menu item. In the case of an echocardiographic report, the large volume of data entry and analysis involves considerable physician time switching back and forth between windows and menu screens.
Several aspects of echocardiography require the grading of abnormalities on a semi-quantitative scale from normal to markedly abnormal. Generic report systems, including those which have some specifics for echocardiograms, do not permit such semi-quantitative grading, other than by allowing the physician to type in the grading in a comments field. Also, since a generic report system can be used differently by different physicians, not all echocardiogram reports will necessarily be the same, either in format or content. There is a need in cardiology to have uniform echocardiograph reporting so that echocardiograms from one patient to another and multiple echocardiograms for the same patient can be easily compared.
An example of a report generator package is described in "A Report Generator Package for Routing Laboratory Tests in a Hospital Cardiology Department," by T. Cochrane and A. W. Dunlop, Computer Methods and Programs in Biomedicine 20 (1985) pp. 63-68. In this article, the user is prompted to input data on a series of VDU screen displays. The system automatically jumps between fields and then the user must select the next page. Each screen display contains a limited number of data items to input as well as notation indicating the correct "normal" range for the item. However, there is no provision for grading the results semi-quantitatively. And, for echocardiographic reports, the user must cycle through a large number of screens to cover all the chambers of the heart and systems.
It is an object of the invention to provide a computer-user interface that facilitates rapid and accurate input of echocardiographic information by echocardiogram readers. It is another object of the invention to provide a computer-user interface that enables grading results on a semi-quantitative basis. It is yet another object of the invention to provide a computer-user interface that enables rapid comparison of individual echocardiographic findings.